


If I Could Feel

by thisislegit



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: 5+1 Things, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, M/M, a little humor, no betas we die like men, raditz is stupid and gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21522775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisislegit/pseuds/thisislegit
Summary: Raditz had been tricked, conned, deceived, deluded, fooled, hoodwinked, bamboozled, and smeckledorfed by Yamcha.
Relationships: Raditz/Yamcha (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 69





	If I Could Feel

1.

It was a kiss on the cheek the first time Raditz experienced that weird feeling in his gut. He didn't think of Yamcha seriously at the time. They were sex friends due to circumstance from how he looked at it, but maybe Yamcha didn't see things that way. The weak group of friends his surprisingly strong brother hung around with were giving him odd looks when he did nothing but grunt and exchanged tiles. Yamcha returned to the living room to watch the volleyball game with Yajirobe and Bulma who were shouting at the TV.

Raditz then noticed the refilled bowl of snacks on the kitchen table he'd missed Yamcha set down. When he reached for some, he accidentally made eye contact with Kakarot who had a knowing smile on his face. He didn't know if it was because of the kiss Raditz received, or if it was because the idiot had a good hand, but he swore out loud that he'd blow up a continent if Kakarot didn't cut that shit out fast.

2.

They were holding hands. Yamcha had tricked him, and now they were holding hands as Yamcha led them down the road to this "gourmet buffet", or whatever the earthlings called it. He promised to take Raditz out for lunch the night before, so of course the saiyan agreed since he wasn't footing the bill.

It was cold outside. The air biting at Raditz's nose, ears, cheeks, and any other part of his face it could get at that wasn't protected with the scarf Yamcha nearly choked him with when they were leaving their apartment. Yamcha was more bundled up than he was due to his stubbornness at not wanting to sweat under layers of fabric. The only thing that had been missing were gloves. 

Yamcha had held his closed hand out to Raditz and said, "Could you hold this?"

Raditz took it expecting something to be dropped into his hand only to feel Yamcha's fingers interlace with his own. Thus was the return of that weird gut feeling, but stronger this time. It's not like he didn't know what Yamcha's hands felt like, or what they could do for that matter. It's just that they were dry and red knuckled and much colder than they should be that made Raditz hold on. At least until they got to the restaurant which he did enjoy very much.

3.

The less than sexual kisses, hand holding, and occasional half hug continued. Raditz had accepted his fate that this was how earthlings, or specifically Yamcha, did things. Which meant he shouldn't think it was a big deal. He was living the high life away from people constantly threatening his life and shit talking him whether or not he was in the same room. No more being shoved into healing pods and shipped out the next day to survive and colonize another hostile planet. No more scavenging for left overs and being the loser. And best of all, no more Frieza. On earth, he got to eat as much as he wanted as long as he went out to get something Yamcha could cook instead of emptying the fridge. He cleaned in exchange for room and board. The sex was great. His training was being taken to new levels with that gravity room thing Bulma had made so he and Kakarot would stop destroying important landmarks by accident. Yes, all things were going well in Raditz's life until Vegeta and Nappa came to ruin it like they always did.

He took some satisfaction in seeing Vegeta's shocked expression with his increased power level, but it was short lived. Vegeta was still stronger, the strongest, and Goku and his friends were having a lot of trouble. Gohan getting involved made things messier, and Raditz knew well enough all the underhanded and sleazy tactics those two would go to to achieve victory. Unfortunately, just because he knew them didn't mean he could stop all of them. He had to pick his battles, think more on his feet, and make sure his tail wasn't snatched. Self-preservation at it's finest, and falling into the pattern of saving himself was easier than he expected it to be.

Then there were those damned saibamen. Ugly, little, expensive things Vegeta used as a taunting point whenever Raditz tried to train in secret just to be caught. They were weaker than him now, and he could deal with them, but Nappa planted all they had left, which was a lot. Then Yamcha and Tien were fighting along because earthlings believed in stupid one on one battles for fairness and suddenly, his body was reacting faster than his mind to tear one off Yamcha. It exploded, and there was pain, and blood, and viscera as his mind processed everything in slow motion. The entire front of Yamcha's gi burned off, but he was alive and there was a stump on Raditz's torso where his arm used to be. Yamcha looked at him from the ground, clenching his teeth in pain, the skin of his torso and angry red with burns. There was another moment when a beam of blue energy circled just above Yamcha's head. The blood bubbling up in his throat made Raditz realize exactly where it had come from as he fell to his knees. He hadn't even had time to scream in pain.

He blinked once and Yamcha was holding him against his burned chest while drops of tears fell onto Raditz's face. The weird gut feeling came back with a vengeance, gripping him in a way he'd never felt before until white noise flooded his ears and vision until he felt nothing at all.

4.

Was it months? Years? Raditz didn't know how long he'd spent in hell, but he was unsure how to feel about seeing Nappa come shortly afterwards but not Vegeta. What was that bastard gremlin doing up there? Was his brother strong enough? Was Yamcha okay?

Raditz paused during his forced labor, ignoring the spiked trident pressing into his back as the realization struck him hard. Was Yamcha okay? Was he alive? Did Vegeta see Raditz throw his life away for the human and make Yamcha the next target? Nappa was useless at giving answers since he died after Raditz, so he was equally clueless. In that time, nothing mattered other than making sure his sacrifice wasn't for nothing, and he didn't know why.

Why did he do that? He could've left Yamcha to die and saved his own ass. Raditz remembered the terror he felt seeing Kakarot's allies hopelessly outmanned, and knowing he'd have to do what he could to pick up the slack. He knew he was ready to bolt at any moment. Take Vegeta's or Nappa's pod while they were too busy having their fun and book it to the next system without so much as a goodbye, but...for some reason seeing that saibaman latch onto Yamcha in a pose that was so familiar and should've been benign to him was more terrifying than anything he'd ever experienced.

The trident in his back turned insistent as it started pushing through the flesh between his shoulder blades, but Raditz felt nothing. Instead he felt warm, and not like the fires of hell warm before it became scalding either. He blinked once. Then twice, and suddenly he was back on Earth. He looked down at his torso and spotted a huge hole in his armor. Must've been the kill shot. Right in the back too that filthy, little bastard. If Vegeta was alive somewhere he swore to kami he'd-.

His senses came back at once when he felt a panicked ki head towards him. Raditz kept his mouth shut, starting to fly up and in the direction to meet him halfway. When Yamcha was in sight, Raditz noted every difference down in an attempt to timestamp how long he'd been gone. Yamcha's hair was short, cut just above his ears and Raditz kinda hated it. The human wore a long sleeved white shirt tucked into his pants, and a frown marred his face.

Raditz stopped when they were less than twenty feet from each other, but Yamcha didn't and met him the rest of the way to tackle him. His arms wrapped tight around Raditz's torso, and his face fit perfectly in the hole of the armor pressing into Raditz's new scar.

"You're back," Yamcha said.

The tone revealed so much vulnerability, and Raditz let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Apparently, Yamcha hadn’t changed besides his outer appearance, since he still wanted all this physical affection. He wrapped his arms around Yamcha in turn and pressed his cheek against the top of his head.

Raditz took this chance to say, "I hate your haircut."

Yamcha laughed, it coming out halfway as a choked sob when he pressed himself as close to Radtiz as he could. The gut feeling came back more insistent and demanding than before, but he chose to ignore it and breathe Yamcha's scent in for a little longer.

5.

They were lying in bed together. The temperature under the blankets beginning to creep into too hot territory when the AC kicked in. Yamcha had gone from lying on his chest to resting against his pillow, his eyes closed, and the pace of his breath starting to slow. His hair had grown longer in the few months since Raditz's return, and the saiyan's hand reached out only for him to pause halfway. His fingers hovered above the space between them. Was he really about to pat Yamcha’s head? Caress his cheek like a lover? They were sex friends right? That’s it. There was nothing more to it, and Yamcha was an overly affectionate kind of guy.

Yet, Raditz wondered if that were true. They’d smoothly fallen back into their old routine. The chore list hadn’t changed despite the new condominium they shared, but there was something different about it. Maybe it was all the stolen touches Yamcha would take, and the kisses Raditz would receive whether or not he’d finish a chore, and not always on the lips either. Sometimes they’d be on the back of his hand when he was grabbing something from the fridge, or his bicep when his face was too high up to reach, or his neck while he was hunched down on the floor doing laundry.

Raditz let his hand drift the rest of the way, his fingers gracing along the back of Yamcha’s ear, his voice quiet as he whispered, “What are you doing to me?”

“Making you fall in love with me,” Yamcha answered, his voice riddled with sleep.

Raditz didn’t expect an answer, but he was happy and angry to have a word for that pull in his gut he’d been feeling since that first mahjong night. He narrowed his eyes at Yamcha’s sleeping face, “Cut it out then.”

“No. Now go to sleep, you’re thinking too loud.”

Raditz found himself smiling as he used his tail to turn off the bedside light. He’d have to get Yamcha back for this, but how?

+1.

His shitty brother finally returned from some planet called Yadrat after putting Raditz and Gohan through hell with Chichi worrying about him. He got a hug from his son, an earful and a hug from Chichi, and an earful from Raditz when he arrived home in that weird ass pod ship with his new technique Raditz knew would lead up to no good. So they were having a party. Gohan was playing with Trunks, who by Raditz’s standard shouldn’t even exist, even though he was kind of cute. Vegeta shouldn’t exist either, and he made his distaste known whenever they crossed paths.

It was surprising to see Vegeta alive from Planet Namek after he greeted his nephew. More surprising to hear Bulma let Vegeta stay with her until who knows when out of the kindness of her heart, but just because she could forgive his murderous tendencies doesn’t mean he could. Therefore, the first thing Raditz did was find the room Vegeta was sleeping in, make sure Yamcha didn’t know what room he was dragging him into, and fucked his lover senseless into the prince’s mattress as revenge. The royal pain in the ass was screaming about it for weeks, since Raditz knew all the best places to leave his scent lingering, and Yamcha didn’t mind harmless revenge now and then. Why he didn’t try kicking Vegeta’s ass the first time they saw each other was due to Gohan letting him know of the sob story he gave Kakarot as he died and how ~~pathetic~~ sad it was.

Still, tonight wasn’t about his dumbass brother, or his terrible, awful ex-commander. No, tonight was about Yamcha, and about Raditz addressing those feelings in public for himself. Yamcha’s back was turned as he played poker with Roshi, Krillin, Oolong, and Kakarot. He couldn’t see Yamcha’s expression, but everyone else’s faces looked grim.

Raditz approached the back of Yamcha’s chair, his shoes quiet as they touched the grass and his ki kept low as not to draw his attention. The people directly in front of Yamcha noticed him, since he was too big too miss, but Yamcha’s face was in his cards until Raditz placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hm, yes?” Yamcha looked up one moment and was being kissed the next.

Raditz placed his free hand on the back of Yamcha’s knuckles to pull his cards in so no one could cheat while he was distracted. He really milked this kiss too, his hand holding onto the back of Yamcha’s neck making him yelp. Raditz thought about deepening the kiss, but settled for nipping Yamcha’s bottom lip as he pulled away. His lover appeared frazzled, his hair a bit messier, his eyes wide, and the skin on the back of his neck warm from embarrassment as he sputtered for words. The other patrons at the table were equally red-faced with the display.

“Wha-what?”

“Good luck.” Raditz gave him another kiss, this time on the tip of his nose, before walking to the dessert table as if nothing had happened. Embarrassing Yamcha with sentiment for as long as they were together seemed like the perfect revenge for all this love nonsense.


End file.
